Haunting Ground: The Second Terror
by Lady162
Summary: My version of a would-be sequal. Anika Harris was just an American college student who was going to visit her friend in Europe. But a car accident sends her into terrifying nightmare in which she much fight to survive.
1. Act One

**Act One:**

My head….

Cripes….

Ah….What's that noise?

Is that the car's horn?

Yeah…yeah it is.

Oh lord….did…did I crash?

I look up and see a tree staring back at me through the crashed windshield.

Roger that. That's a ten-four, good buddy.

I think I can still move my arms and legs.

Yeah, I can.

I unbuckle my seatbelt (which I had on, thank god), get to my surprisingly intact legs (arms and legs okay; just a wicked headache), and look at my totaled rental car.

And was I smart enough to get the insurance? No. Uncle John always said that that stuff's a waste.

I suddenly remember my friend Missy's words. "Come to Europe, we'll have a blast, we've rented this kick-ass place in the country side. It'll be fun."

I had nothing else planned for summer vacation, and I missed her since she left for that arts school in Italy with her boyfriend, Kyle. So I packed my bags, bought a plane ticket, and came here.

Now here I am.

Anika Harris, an American college student stuck in a European back road who doesn't have a cell phone signal or the sense to get rental car insurance.

A chill blows through the air, making my long black hair slap me in the face and me close my leather jacket with my hands. (Good thing I chose my jeans over my miniskirt this morning.) The bitter nighttime around me begins to fill my mind with unease.

Great, now what do I do? There's nothing but forest and fog all around me.

No…wait…What is _that?_ Is that a _house light?_ It is! I can see it through the fog!

I grab my backpack, a flashlight to guide my obscured way, and my phone.

Oh, and Missy's present!

I went to Chinatown before I left the states and found

this thing that I knew she would just _love_. (Had a fun time getting it through customs.) Man, I'd be pissed if I came back to the car and it was stolen.

With anything remotely valuable out of the car, I begin my trek to the light.

It's so quiet. It's just my footsteps. I can't even hear any crickets or frogs. (I forget. Are there frogs in Italy?) The flashlight barely cuts through the fog. I was never a fan of walking around in the dark, especially in the forest. It's my own fault, I suppose. I've been a horror movie nut for as long as I remember. While you'd figure that I would be desensitized, I just became more aware of what could, but probably really wasn't, wandering in the dark.

Wait! What's that?!

A man!

A man in a mask!

A man in a mask with a machete!

No, not a machete; claws!

I send my flashlight over, get ready to defend myself, and find myself face to face with my so-called attacker.

Just a tree. A small, dead tree.

Oh snap outta it, Anika.

Oh what? Is Freddy Krueger going to jump out at you?

_In the middle of Italy?_

As I continue to walk, I begin to ponder something. How the hell did I crash the car?

I think I remember. I was driving through the back roads, trying to make heads or tails of the directions Missy sent me. (I love her to death, but Missy really sucks at giving directions. But it was actually pretty generous of her. The envelop that had the instructions also had a map, a guide, and my plane ticket. Don't worry, I'm going to pay her back for the tickets.)

That's when it jumped right out in the middle of the road.

A dog. Or maybe it was a wolf. I couldn't tell.

It was lucky that I didn't hit it. Its fur was white, the same color as the fog. I almost didn't see it. I almost hit it.

But no, I hit the tree instead.

Yippee. Fido gets to live and jump in front of cars for another day and I get to get yelled at by an Italian rental car guy who barely speaks English.

I finally come up to the source of the light- a farmhouse.

The porch groans and creaks like an old person as I cross over it to knock on the screen door that had obviously seen better days.

I knock once. Nothing.

I knock again. Still nothing.

_Shook!_

Huh? What was that?

_Shook!_

It's coming from the fields, whatever it is.

_Shook!_

I can barely make out the figure of a skinny guy in the fields, swinging some sort of farming tool. A scythe I think.

I make my way for him. Normally, a girl in my situation might whine and complain about her feet sticking in the mud, but not me. With my combats boots on, I welcome mud. (Plus, I've always been considered a bit of a tough girl.)

I finally made it to hearing distance of the man when I called out to him. I can speak a little Italian (but not enough to save my ass from the rental car guy).

"Scuza? Senor?"

He doesn't look at me at first. He just stops whipping that scythe around and stands there.

Uh oh. I've got a bad feeling.

He slowly turns to me and ends up giving me the shock of my life. Under his mop of stringy black hair, I can see his eyes. His dull, almost corpselike eyes. His blueish and puckered skin boasts a rigid, boney frame pressing from under it.

And then there's this smell. Oh lord, the smell's the worst.

It's a musky, rotten, salt watery smell that almost makes me gag.

He's like a dead body.

A dead body that's been held underwater for years upon years.

He grins at me with moldy, yellow-green teeth and hoarsely whispers my name, like two pieces of driftwood rubbing against each other in a rough tide.

"Anika!"

That's when he swings his scythe at me. And almost out of instinct, I hit the dirt,

only feeling the wind of the blade rather than the actual one.

"What the hell's your problem?!" (Too bad I didn't learn _that _phrase in Italian,

huh?)

He doesn't take much time to attack again. Next thing I know, the scythe's lodged

in the mud a hair's distance away from my side.

I don't ask questions. I just run like hell.

God, this trip has sure gone from bad to worse! (I didn't read anything about scythe-

swinging madmen in the guide to Italy!)

I can hear the scythe man call out to me in his driftwood voice.

"I will find you, Anika! You cannot escape Lucio!"

Lucio? Is that this lunatic name?

I'm not really running to anyplace in particular. I suppose no one really would if

they were being chased by a maniac in the middle of nowhere.

I've gotten a bit of ways from him, and the fog is still pretty thick.

Shut off the flashlight. That'll conceal your location more.

A log. Just big enough for you to squeeze into.

I get on my hands and knees and crawl inside. Ugh, please don't be any spiders.

I can hear Lucio walking up to the log's side. My neck hair stands on its end. I

begin to silently pray that he won't find me.

Then it's quiet. Really quiet. The sort of quiet that I encountered before I did the

farmhouse and it's insane occupant.

Safe? Am I safe?

A scythe blade cracked through the log's wood right next to my face answered my

question.

Lucio's cry was a wave crashing on a beach. "Found you, Anika!"

Oh screw this.

I send my booted leg through the log's wall and gave Lucio's crotch a little hello.

Reanimated corpse thing or not, Lucio felt it and went crumbling to his knees.

I bolt straight into the foggy darkness with Lucio yelling out curses from the

growing distance.

Great, no what do I do?

Wait…Is that another light?

Is it the farmhouse?

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I ran in a straight line.

Well, even if it is, maybe I could wrestle up some farming tools of my own to

defend myself with. Plus, it's not like I have any more options.

The light seems to be a million miles away, but somehow, I still make it to it.

And to my shock, it wasn't the farmhouse.

It was a castle.

A frickin' castle.

The gate is open, so I just run right in. It's a bit of a chore, but I still close it and

put some rocks and stuff in front of it. I find one of the front doors to be unlocked and

just go right in and lock the door.

Safe. Finally safe.

I peek out the window to see if the barricade's holding.

Then I get that bad feeling again.

I hear a deep, stifled squeal from behind me.

Oh crap. What now?

Slowly and somewhat reluctantly, I turn.

Unfortunately, I find myself face to face with the largest man I've ever seen.

Uh oh…this _can't_ be good…

He opens his long, thick, tree limbs of arms and jovially cries out to the heavens.

"Dolly!"


	2. Act Two

**Oh, I didn't know that I had to do this first, sorry….**

**I don't own _Haunting Ground_ nor it's characters….which kinda sucks. Because when my friend would be all "I own a convertible" I could be all "Yeah, well I own a friggin' game series!"…which I don't.**

Act Two:

Well isn't this just wonderful?! I get away from the damn scythe man and now I find myself face to face with frickin' Quasimodo!

He cries out "dolly" once again before reaching for me. But I'm quicker than him and duck under his reach. Once again, I just bolt, not caring where I run.

Y'know, this is actually a pretty nice place. Well, from what I can actually _notice_. One really can't enjoy such beauty when running for one's life. Pity really. Missy always told me about all these beautiful buildings and stuff in Italy. Now I can't even appreciate it when I'm actually in Italy.

"Dolly! Come! Dolly! Cooo-ome!"

Like hell I would.

Okay Anika, he's slower than you. And you can run pretty fast; there's a school record plaque back at Lincoln High School with your name on it to prove it. Yeah, you've barely screeched by in academics your whole life, but you're the only girl in your Physical Conditioning class than can throw a punch, run a six minute mile, and all that jazz.

I work up the courage to look behind me.

He's gone. I've lost him for now.

Were the hell am I? Some sorta dining room.

Ah, what's that? A fireplace poker.

Common Sense 101: if you're being chased, at least get a weapon to defend yourself with, just in case you get cornered.

I can hear idiotic giggling and thudding on the shiny marble floors a few rooms away.

Maybe I can find someplace to hide. I mean, he's a couple rooms away, so maybe he would think that I ran into the next room. But where to hide?

The long table catches my eye.

Remembering days of playing under the dinner table with my cousins, I duck under the table and stifle my harsh breath.

My neck hair stands on end as I hear the big idiot thudding next to the table, calling out "dolly" in his untamed, unknowing blabber. I grip the poker, good and ready to defend myself and planning on where to hit (something tells me hitting his head won't be too damaging…).

The thudding and the calls get quieter. I think he's gone.

I wait a few moments before peeking out to find the room empty. I get out from under the table as quickly and quietly as I can.

What. The. Hell?!

Is this whole countryside full of maniacs?! Missy, you never mentioned _anything_ about creeps who chase around poor lost girls in all your emails!

I begin to leave the room, watching my back, and open up my cell phone.

Dead?! No! I must've been unconscious for quite a while! Great! The one time I need my phone!

A clatter echoes in the room. I look behind me to see the fireplace tool rack on the floor.

Agh, stupid backpack! Must've hooked itself on it!

And sure enough-

"Doooooo-llllyyyyyy!" I look over to see the big idiot walk into the room.

Okay, screw it. Let's do this!

I run for the creep, all set to kick his ass. He reaches for me, but my speed saves me once again, and he only snatches my backpack. (Good riddance. Caused this trouble anyway.) I turn and face the freak with my poker poised.

"Okay freak-job, come and get me!"

He's giggling like an idiot again. "Dolly! Dolly!"

But this time, he's not saying "dolly" to me, but rather to my backpack. I watch him gingerly reach his hands in, his face bright with child-like glee, and pull out Missy's gift.

He squeals once again as he holds the wooden geisha doll in his hands.

Missy is a total otaku (meaning she likes anime and manga- Japanese cartoons and comics, respectively) and basically Asia fan in general. If it's Asian, chances are she'll like it. She once wrote an email to me saying how she missed being able to go to Chinatown, so I decided to go get her a gift from there. Originally, it was just going to be some Pocky's (the strawberry ones), but then I found this little one.

The large man began to giggle and mutter in glee as he held the little geisha in his hands. His large eyes sparkled and he grinned a goofy grin.

I know it's weird to say this, but it's actually pretty cute.

He turns his happy face to me. "Can have?"

It takes me a few seconds to figure out what he's saying.

"Huh? Oh? Do you want the doll?" He nods madly. "Okay, but _only_ if you stop chasing me….Do you understand?"

He grunts a yes and cradles the little thing. I suppose Missy can forgive me for giving up her gift to save my life.

Suddenly, I hear a quiet, almost wind chime-like voice.

"Debilitas?"

We both turn to see a young woman.

Man, I gotta tell you, I'm not trying to sound like a guy or anything, but this chick was smoking hot. Like supermodel hot. It was almost unnatural. (But then again, so is most of the Hollywood beauty out there. Unnatural, I mean.)

Her hair was light color I have never seen before and tied back in two buns in the back, a few strands flowing freely, adding some artistic vibe to it. She had on this shorter skirted violet dress complete with a corset, gold lining, and boots, like she just steped out of the Victorian age or something.

She sees the poker and steps back a bit with her eyes somewhat wide. "Oh…uh…hello, miss."

I set the poker down on the ground and flash my empty palms for a few seconds. "Uh, hi. Sorry to barge in. I was lost and the door was open so…"

The hunchback (Debilitas, was it?) calls out to the woman in his own simple little langue, beckoning her to see his new gift, which makes her smile.

"Oh. Where did you find that little one, Debilitas? She's not like your other ones, is she? A little geisha to keep your ladies of the court company and entertained with tales of home."

I feel okay to come into this conversation. "I gave it to him."

"Well thank you. He always gets this happy when he gets a new doll."

So big boy likes dolls. Meh, that interest is better than liking to cut people in half with a scythe.

The woman turns to me, still smiling.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Diana. I'm the housekeeper of Castle Belli."

Castle Belli? Is that what this place is called?

"Oh, I'm Anika. Anika Harris."

Something's not right with Diana. It's a sort of shock. The kinda quiet shock you get when you find out that you're related to your boyfriend. (For the record, this didn't happen to me. It happened to Missy….Cousins.) It's small and quiet, but still noticeable.

Oh great, is _she_ going to chase me, too?

She smoothes out her surprise into a smile and _tries_ to sound calm.

"Oh…uh….It's good to meet you, miss. So you are lost?'

"Uh, yeah. I had car trouble, and ended up here."

"Oh, how unfortunate…Are you hungry? I was beginning to prepare some dinner."

My stomach growls almost instantly. Come to think of it, the last time I ate was on the plane, and that was at least a good six hours ago.

"If it's not too much trouble…" I just walked into a stranger's castle. It's not like I _expected_ a meal.

"Oh no. I usually make too much anyway."

Me and Debilitas sit at the dining room table (after I picked up the fire poker rack; I mean, I knocked it down anyway). Diana brings out a roast and some soup that smells like heaven. I offer to help, but Diana says she's got it covered.

The food tastes as good as it smells. I try not to wolf it down, like Debilitas, but I'm _very_ hungry. Diana, however, eats like a bird; slow and calm.

"So, Anika, what brings you here to the castle? You mentioned car trouble."

"Uh…it's actually a weird story….I was going to visit my friend when I crashed my car in one of the back roads…I hit a tree trying to avoid this dog."

"Dog?"

"Or wolf. It was white, whatever it was. So I was walking down the road when I saw this light."

"Oh, the castle light?"

I pause as I remember my recent past. Suddenly, I don't feel so good.

"Actually…it was a farmhouse…But when I went there…this man attacked me." Diana and Debilitas froze for a moment. "He just started chasing me with a scythe and I just ended up here…" I look up to Diana with worry. "Oh man…what if he breaks in here?"

"That's unlikely." Diana explains, "The castle walls are high and thick; same for the door. He'd have a hard time, getting in here."

"But shouldn't we still call the police?"

"We're out of all police jurisdictions." Diana smiles a odd smile. "Besides, they're too scared to come out here."

Who could blame them? Except for Diana and Debilitas, everyone around here is nuts.

"So you do have a phone?"

"Mm-hm. But it's not like we use it much anyway. Usually it's to communicate in the castle."

"So there are other people here?"

"Yes, but this castle is so big, I hardly see them." I can see why that is. This castle _does _seem pretty big. "So tell me about this man….Just so we can keep an eye out for him."

I picture him in my head, and a chill kicks my nerves in the shins.

"He's…blue…and wrinlkey….like a drowned corpse…He has these rotten teeth and he stinks like…I dunno…pond water."

"And he was at this farm near here?"

"Yeah."

"Hm….the only farm I can think of that's near here is Lucio's farm."

My nerves rattle again. I remember the torrent that was the mad farmer's voice.

_I will find you, Anika! You cannot escape Lucio!_

Lucio. The name echoes in my mind like a bat's screech in some dank, dark cellar.

"That…That's the name of the guy who was chasing me."

Diana shakes her head. "No, impossible. He's dead."

"But he looks like a _corpse…._And lemme guess, he drowned?"

The maid nods. "Yes…In a very brutal way."

"Who is this guy?"

Diana stopped eating, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and looked me dead in the eye. Man, she seems alright, but her stare gives me the creeps.

"He used to be the castle's provider of produce and livestock. He was exclusively on the master's retainer…" The master? She must mean the owner of the castle. "However, he wasn't a nice person. From what I heard, he beat his wife and children constantly until the day they fled. And I would also hear these stories about him hiring prostitutes just so he could take his anger out on them."

Yikes, Diana wasn't kidding about him being mean…

"He also liked to hunt small animals just for fun…From what people assume, he was chasing a weasel or something through a rain storm one night…."

_Lucio's Memory_

_"Gonna get you, you little bastard." Lucio Calroni muttered wickedly to himself as he stalked the weasel among the trees and rain. "Gonna shoot you and skin you and cut you to pieces."_

_Even rain and cold couldn't keep the countryman from quenching his violent needs. True, he could barely see, but his urges, baser instincts thought to be lost in the course of mankind's evolution, guided him towards his innocent prey._

_Because he didn't hunt for food or fur for keeping warm._

_He hunted simply for the wretched ecstasy he found in killing._

_"Smart little critter, eh? Well I've still got you."_

_The small mammal lured him deeper and deeper into the woods. Lucio's hands writhed on the handle of the scythe._

_He had busted his rifle in a fit of rage a week before, so he decided to use a scythe for hunting. He didn't complain though. He still got to kill something, and the scythe was empowering in it's own, simpler way._

_It kind of made Lucio feel like the grim reaper._

_Deeper and deeper Lucio stalked his prey into the woods. The rain fell harder, the ground became slicker, and the wind blew harder, but he kept on going. He gritted his teeth, gripped his scythe even tighter, and muttered his insane little mutters._

_Suddenly, to Lucio's displeasure, the weasel was gone among the shadows before him._

_He muttered a string of curses foul enough to make a nun faint and sightlessly continued his blind hunt._

_The rain smacked his face, making him only run faster. Pricker bushes sank their thorns and clothes into his exposed flesh, fanning the flame that was his anger. More and more trees seemed to appear before him, adding more thrills to the hunt and making his bloodlust skyrocket even further._

_He wanted to kill._

_He wouldn't let up._

_He ran. He trudged. He dreamed of severing flesh._

_And that was when the ground vanished beneath his feet._

_He half-fell, half-slid into the ravine, ultimately having his legs disappear into the muck._

_His first instinct: try to pull his legs out of the mud. His attempts were fruitless. Then he tried to use the sycthe to dig his legs out or pull himself out; both of which failures._

_Then he noticed water pooling around his legs._

_To his horror, he looked to the ravine's edge to see the excess rain water flowing into the pit._

_Lucio's movements were more fast and frantic now. But he only seemed to sink even further into the mud, if anything._

_He heard the chatter of his once-prey and looked up to see it looking at him. Out of anger, he threw the scythe at it, only to hit a log that was actually slowing the flow of some of the deadly water. The weasel ran away, leaving Lucio to die and hate himself after realizing that he could have used the scythe, now out of his reach, to cut off his legs and escape. At least then, he would have hurt **something**, and his violent hunt wouldn't have been for nothing._

_The water was soon up to his waist, then his shoulders, then his neck, then, finally, way above the violent Lucio Calroni's head._

"They didn't find his body then." Diana tells me, "Everyone figured he just finally abandoned his farm and ran off to the city. We ended up taking in all his livestock and remaining crops. Turned a training area outside into a little field. They didn't find Lucio's body until about five or ten years later, when some hikers came across the ravine, which was still flooded over. His family still didn't forgive him for his cruelty, so they refused to take care of any funeral plans. From what I understand, the master offered to handle his burial."

I hope Diana wasn't trying to calm me down, because I'm even more freaked out. And if anything, it explained why Lucio was the way he was.

Great, not only am I being chased. I'm being chased by a zombie.

"I know what I saw, Diana….It's him….I don't know how he's walking around…but it's him."

Diana only looks at me and sighs a quiet, even polite sigh.

"Well if that's what you _did_ see…then it's all the more reason to get you to safety, isn't it?" Diana gets up slowly and gracefully. "I shall take you to a phone to call for a ride."

I get up too, though not as gracefully. "Thank you, Diana."

We leave Debilitas to finish his food as Diana guides me down the corridors, making conversation as we go.

"So, Anika, where are you from? You said you were visiting a friend."

"Actually, I'm from New York."

"In America?"

"Yeah, my friend's in this art school here in Italy and rented a cabin with her boyfriend. I was invited over and well…yeah….I won't bother telling you what you already know."

"Sounds fun. All the more reason to get you a ride." We end up in what seems to be some sorta lounge. "The phone is over there on the table. As long as you don't dial zero first, you'll get an outside line. Do you have your friend's number? Because I can fetch a phone book."

"No no, I got it. Thanks Diana." She bows a bit. I take the phone in my hand. It's this old fashioned, pearly thing. All this low tech stuff around here. I'm surprised that this place even has a _phone book_. It almost seems like this place has been cut off from the rest of the world….And Diana's mannerisms and clothing…

Just what sort of place is this?

I take out the scrap of paper with Missy's cabin phone number on it and try to dial it in….

…But there's nothing. Nothing beyond the phone's speakers but hazy nothingness. No dial tone. No beeping. Nothing.

"Diana?"

"Miss?"

"The phone's not working."

"What?"

"The phone. There's no dial tone or anything."

Diana comes over, I hand the phone and number to her, and she tries it herself. Judging by the slight lines of frustration on her face, I'm guessing she's not having much luck either. She hands up the phone.

"Hmm…..I think the phone might have gone out…This has happened before. The phone lines are hard to maintain when you're so deep in the woods…I'll send Debilitas to go check it out."

"Debilitas? Him?…_Really?_" I wasn't trying to be mean, but it still comes off as that, doesn't it?

"He's the handyman of the castle…I know he doesn't seem to bright, but he's actually very good at fixing things around here." Diana turns at me with a attempted-calm smile. "How about we get you comfortable until this is resolved?"

"Uh…okay…you got a TV?"

"A television? Well…there's one in the guest bedroom…It's not really an up-to-date model, though."

Another trip though the castle.

"Do you have a mobile phone, perhaps?"

"Yeah, but it's dead. And the charger only works on American sockets." Missy has adapters, which I planned on using to charge my phone once I got to the cabin.

"The master had once acquired some adapters some years ago. However, I'm not sure where it is….I need some time to locate one."

"It's alright. Thank you so much, Diana."

"Not at all, miss." Wow, such a polite woman…

I hear a clock chime seven. Lord knows Missy's probably having one of her worrying fits by now.

We end up in a small bedroom. (I think I ran through this when I was running from Debilitas.) A nice cozy little setting. A bed, a dressing area, fireplace, lounging area.

I see the piece of junk Diana was talking about and pull a chair in front of it.

"I shall come and get you when the phone is fixed." I thank Diana once again and she leave leaves. Now…to figure out how to work this friggin' TV.

I think I saw something like this in our basement once. But me and my cousins would just play with it, pretending that is was a monitor in a spaceship. We never saw it actually work, though. So it wasn't like I had any experience actually working it.

Ol' Debi passes by with a bag of tools. He grunts a friendly greeting which I return….though, it's not much of a grunt.

Y'know, when he's not chasing you, the big fella's kinda cute.

After a few minutes of sifting through static, I finally manage to get a few, fuzzy channels. I decided to stick with some soap opera. I've always found the language of soap operas to be universal, despite whatever _verbal_ language it's in. You've got your doctors or spoiled heirs and heiresses, all of which ridiculously gorgeous. They're yelling about something…I think this one fella cheated on his wife or girlfriend or whatever with this lady here.

Man, I hate soap operas, bit it's not like anything else is on. The only other thing I could get was a game show, and I mean that in the most remote way possible.

I watch the mindless dribble for a few more moments when I think I hear something.

No maybe it's nothing. Just some background noise coming from the show.

There it is again. No, it's _definitely _coming from outside.

Maybe it's Debilitas….No…it doesn't sound like him.

There it is again. So faint, so unfamiliar….

"Help me! Someone! Help!"

Oh god, what is with this place?!

Should I go out? I mean, Diana said it was pretty safe. Plus, Debi's out there, and he looks like he can pretty much take down a bear. (Big goof would probably have a ball doing it.)

Well, if I _am_ going out, I'm not going out _unarmed_.

I look around the cabinets and find a hunting knife. Good enough. I mean, I've taken a few self-defense classes (not Women's self-defense so much as the thousand year old combat technique variety).

I'm fiddling with my locket as I head for the door. I must be nervous, because that's my nervous tick. And as always, I mutter the same line:

"Mother, protect me."

It takes a few moments to work up the nerve to go outside, but I do it.

In exception to one or two flowering plants, it's pretty much dry and bleak out here. I begin making my way down some steps when I hear the cry again.

"Help me! Please!"

Agh, man that creeps me out…I think it was coming from the lower area.

"Hello?" I call out as I begin to wander around the garden. "Is anyone there?"

No response.

"_Helloooo?_"

No response again.

Figures, I actually work up the nerve to come out here and I don't get a response.

A wind blows again. What's with this weather?

And this place….It's so quiet, so loney, it's creepy. I can't even hear or see Debilitas working.

I find myself next to a fountain. I've always like fountains, though I can't say why. Maybe it's the general curb appeal. As pretty as this thing was, it's obviously seen better days. Still, it kinda calms me down.

I reach into my pocket, feel a penny, and hold it in my palm.

Heh…why the hell not?

The shiny thing makes a few flips before landing in the water. I make my wish.

"Get me the hell outta here alive."

The copper gleams through the green and brown of the water's silt.

But it doesn't land on the bottom.

Instead, it lands on….a nose?

The silt flows away, revealing…blueish…puckered skin. To my shock, eyes open. Dull, corpselike eyes. Rotten yellow teeth smiles through the muck.

I'm immediately sent into nausea.

Oh…sonuva-

Lucio the scythe man jumps out of the water, weapon in hand, and lands on the side.

Another metaphorical tidal wave crashes on some imaginary beach.

"I found you, Anika!!!!"

**Next month: Lucio's back! Anika begins to look into more about the unnerving Castle Belli. And along the way, she meets a very helpful ally…**

**Also, a twisted nightmare from 162 herself!**

**Tune in next month! (Or sooner. Who knows?) Same Haunting Ground station! Same Haunting Ground channel!**

**Oh, and I also put out a trailer on YouTube for this story….It seemed like a good idea at the time. You can go check it out on my YouTube channel (my user name's the same; Lady162). It's basically some game scenes edited together (my flash skills aren't as bloomed yet.)**

**I also made a game intro thing that…actually parodies the one from _Silent Hill_…That also seemed like a good idea at the time. (I may or may not put it up.)**


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